Myon Burrell convicted of felony drug, weapons charges related to 2023 Robbinsdale traffic stop

Myon Burrell, the man whose life sentence for murder was commuted in 2020 after spending nearly two decades in prison, has been convicted of felony drug and weapons charges related to a 2023 Robbinsdale traffic stop.

Burrell, 38, was charged in Hennepin County District Court last year with illegal weapon possession and fifth-degree drug possession after he was pulled over last August by a Robbinsdale police officer who said Burrell’s SUV was traveling erratically on N. 42nd Avenue. Police found a loaded handgun with an extended magazine in the front center console and illicit drugs in the backseat.

On the eve of a scheduled jury trial last month, Burrell waived his right to testify and sought a trial by judge.

In a 20-page ruling Friday, Judge Mark Kappelhoff` found him guilty of both counts, concluding that the state had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Burrell knowingly and unlawfully possessed the firearm and narcotics in his vehicle. His DNA was found on both items.

Burrell’s attorney intends to ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to decide whether that initial search by police was legal.

Early on, Burrell’s attorneys argued there was no probable cause to stop Burrell or search his SUV — a decision seemingly “based on nothing more than an imaginary cloud of smoke that allegedly came from inside the vehicle.” They pointed to a 2023 Minnesota Supreme Court decision that the smell of marijuana alone does not justify a search.

But Judge Peter Cahill later ruled that the search was valid, citing moving violations visible in squad car footage and “green leafy debris in plain view” of a police officer as valid reasons to search the vehicle because of a potential DWI.

“The stipulated facts trial will allow us to get to the central issue of the case: the validity of the initial traffic stop and the expansion of that stop by the officer,” Burrell’s attorney, Paul Applebaum, wrote in a statement to the Star Tribune. “Putting that constitutional question in the hands of the Court of Appeals has been our focus since early on in the case.”

According to the charges:

Around 11 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2023, a Robbinsdale police officer spotted Burrell’s Chevrolet Tahoe traveling erratically and going over the 30-mph speed limit.

When he pulled Burrell over, the officer reported smelling a strong odor of burnt marijuana when the driver’s side window was rolled down. He also saw “marijuana remnants” in the center console and noticed that Burrell’s eyes were red, glassy, and his pupils were dilated.

Burrell was ordered out of the SUV, charges say, where a field sobriety test indicated a degree of intoxication. He objected when the officer told him his vehicle was going to be searched for marijuana and started walking away when told to sit in the squad car.

In addition to the firearm, police found a backpack containing two bags of marijuana and 21 clear capsules of a powder that tested positive for methamphetamine. Inside he also had a bag of 16 suspected ecstasy pills, more empty baggies and a digital scale.

Burrell can’t possess guns because of the felony murder conviction. As a juvenile, he was convicted of killing of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was struck by a stray bullet in south Minneapolis while doing math homework at her dining room table. Burrell’s life sentence was commuted by the Minnesota Board of Pardons after he served 18 years. He has always maintained his innocence in Tyesha’s killing.

Burrell has another pending felony drug case related to a May traffic stop, where a county violent offender task force allegedly seized methamphetamine from his SUV. A police search of Burrell’s Crystal home also turned up a suitcase with $60,000 in cash, according to the complaint.

Both of Burrell’s drug cases are being prosecuted by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office because of a potential conflict of interest stemming from Burrell’s role as a paid member of Mary Moriarty’s campaign staff in 2022, when she successfully ran for Hennepin County attorney.

He is expected back in court on Sept. 23. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Staff writers Kim Hyatt and Paul Walsh contributed to this story.